Toy building block



i April 7, 1942 K N.v l. PAULsoN 2,278,894-

Yformed' with the side walls ofv a suitable Patented Apr. 7, 1942l ATENTOFFICE TY BUELDING BLOCK Nils I. Paulson, Chicago, Ill.,

assignments, to Elgo Plastics, Inc., a corporation of Illinois fassigner, by mesne Chicago, Ill.,

Application FcbruaryZ, 1941, Serial No. 379,791

' (or. fie- 25) 3 Claims.

My invention relates to toy building blocks and one of my aims is toprovide an improved hollow toy building block open at one end and closedat its other end by an end wall integrally formed with the side Walls.

It is another object oi my invention to provide improved toy buildingblocks which will aid in developing a childs ability to dilerentiatebetween colors and between blocks varying in 'size My improved blocksare furnished in sets, and

.it is another object of my invention to make the f blocks of suchrelative transverse size that columns uniform in transverse size andhaving sides generally straight, or columns gradually diminishing intransverse size and having sides generally tapered, or a column onesection of which has generally straight sides while another section hassides generally tapered may be built as desired, thereby increasing theusefulness of the blocks and the interest of a child in building columnsof diierent designs.

It is a further object of my invention to provide as a new article ofmanufacture a hollow building member open at one end and closed at itsother end and havingits'end wall integrally molded plastic material. l

My invention consists in the novel constructions and arrangements to behereinafter .described and claimed for carrying out the above statedobjects and such other objects as will appear from the followingdescription of certain preferred embodiments illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, wherein- Fig. l is a plan view of a buildingmember or block embodying the principles of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of a column of blocks similar to that shown inFig. 1, a portion of the column being broken away to show how one blockengages an adjacent block;

Fig. 3 is a side view of a column of blocks similar to that shown inFig. 1 but Vof gradually diminishing or graduated transverse size, thecolumn having generally tapered sides; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the blocks shown in Fig. 3 nested onewithin another.

Like characters of reference ldesignate like parts in the several views.

Each block is hollow, being open at one end and closed vat its other endby an end wall 6 integrally formed-with the -side walls 1. In thearrangement shown, the blocks have four side walls each being disposedat right angles to the adjacent walls.

Eachbuilding member exteriorly and adjacent the margin of its end wallis formed so as to provide a continuous ledge 8 asshown7 which makes itpossible to place the ends of the side walls at the open end ofabuilding member of the same transverse size on the ledge in thebuilding of a columnvv having straight or parallel sides as shown inFig. 2. By `the use of a considerable open end of a number of suchbuilding members, a column of a substantial height may be erected, andit will be appreciated that the engagement at its yopen end of one blockwith the ledge of the block engaged by it makes it impossibleV for theblocks of the column to turn or to shift laterally relative to eachother.

As is shown in the' drawing, the end wall S of each block is formed soas to provide continuous 4outwardly open grooves 9 extending about theouter margin of the end wall. When some of the building members are ofgradually diminishing transverse'size, as the blocks I0, Hand l2 shownin Figs. 3 and 4, they may be placed one on top of another with the endsof the side walls at the member, such as the member Il, disposed withinthe groove 9 of the block I0. Blocks of such construction maybe used forbuilding a column of a substantial height and having sidewalls'generally tapering or converging from the base to the top of thecolumn. Blocks of this typealso have the advantage that a block of smalltransverse size may be nested within the next larger block as shown inFig. 4.` It will also be appreciated that with a relative large set ofsuch blocks, that is to say, a number of blocks of each size, columns orcolumn sections of many different designs may be built. For example, acolumn section of several blocks of the same transverse size havingstraight sides may be built, on the top of which may be built a secondcolumn section of several blocks of smaller but uniform transverse size,and on the top of the second column section an additional column sectionof several blocks maybe built, and the latter section may be of blocksof smaller but uniform transverse size (as compared with the blocks ofthe second section) or of gradually diminishing or graduated transversesize.

`between the different colors.

In the production of my improved blocks I contemplate molding them of asuitable plastic material. I prefer to use a synthetic resinous materialsuch as cellulose acetate, more particularly a material such as thatcommonly known as Tenite Building members molded of a material such as Ihave mentioned have many advantages. The material is obtainable in manydifferent colors. It is non-toxic, tasteless and odorless. The materialis tough and durable and blocks made of it will stand considerable roughusage without damage. The material is not so brittle that it will easilycrack even under substantial pressure such as might be applied by achild stepping on one side of a Ibuilding member at or adjacent its openend. The material is light in weight and has substantial strength evenwhen the side walls are quite thin, say .040 in thickness. The materialis not cold or hot to touch. The material is homogeneous in color andrequires no painting or other surface coating and, therefore, no portionof a wall is likely to chip, scale or peel off. Walls of the thicknessmentioned will spring back into normal shape should a child step on orapply pressure to opposing side walls as by squeezing. The `material ispractically indestructible, even burning very slowly if a flame isapplied to it. Blocks made of such material do not expand or contract toany substantial extent because of "changing atmospheric conditions.

My .improved building members are safe for even very young children touse, and the building members readily lend themselves to many differentbuilding operations. When blocks of several different colors aresupplied in a set, a child readily learns to harmonize or differentiateWhen the buildingmem-bers are made in gradually diminishing or graduatedtransverse sizes a child playing with 'them readily learns todifferentiate between the diierent sizes and becomes accustomed to thedifferences .in weight between a block of relatively small transversesize as distinguished from a block larger in transverse size. A hollowblock is also ,i

useful as a measure for sand. It will be apprec'iated that the exteriorsurface of the en-d Wall for example may be molded so as to show inrelief any desired object, and when that is done the closed end of ablock may be used to produce an i impression of theobject `in a materialsuch as Wet sand.

I wish it to be understood that my invention is not limited to thespecic constructions shown and described, except so far as certain ofthe claims may be so limited, as it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that changes in the constructions and arrangements may be madewithout departing from the principles of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a set of hollow toy building members each being of graduatedtransverse size for nesting one within another and for the building of acolumn having generally tapered sides, a new article of manufacturecomprising a toy building member open at one end and having an end walland side walls all integrally formed of molded plastic material, saidend wall having exterior groove means to receive the ends of the sidewalls at the open end of a similar member of a transverse size adaptedto nest within said first member.

2. In a set of hollow toy building members some being of uniformcross-sectional size and some being of varying cross-sectional size andsmaller than others for nesting one within another for the building ofcolumns, some columns havingstraight sides and some having generallytapered sides, anew article of manufacture comprising a toy buildingmember open at one end and having an end wall and side walls allintegrally formed ofl molded plastic material, said V'member adjacentthe margin of said end Wall having ledge means to support or besupported by the ends of the side walls at the open end of a similarmember of the same cross-sectional size, and said end wall havingexterior groove means to receive the ends of the side walls at the openend of a similar member of a smaller cross-sectional size adapted tonestWithin said rst member.

3. In a set of hollow toy building members some being of uniformcross-sectional size and some being of varying. cross sectional size andsmaller than others for nesting one within another for the building ofcolumns, some columns i having straight sides and some having generallytapered sides, a new article of manufacture comprising a toy buildingmember open at one end and having an `end wail and side walls allintegrally `formed of molded plastic material, said member adjacent `themargin of said end wall having ledge means to support 'or be supportedby the ends of theside Walls at the open end of a similar member of' thesame cross sectional size,

`and said end wall having laterally spaced and outwardly extendingflanges delining groove means for receiving the ends of the side Wallsat the open end of a similar member of a smaller cross sectional sizeadapted to nest within said rst member, the exterior surface of -thecentral or main portion of said end wall being substantially ush withthe outer edgesof said anges. NILS I. PAULSON.

